Published: February 07, 2008 05:36 pm            

County BOE names Wheatmore principal

ASHEBORO — The Randolph County Board of Education has accepted the retirement of Amy Cagle and approved the transfer of Principal Daryl Barnes from Trinity High School to the future Wheatmore High.

Those two personnel decisions came after a closed session of the board prior to the regular January meeting. The meeting was at Pinewood Country Club, where the Board of Education held its winter work session on Jan. 15 and then met for the regular monthly meeting.

Cagle's retirement is effective June 30, 2008. She currently serves as assistant superintendent for Human Services and Administrative Services, having been promoted from her original Central Office duties as executive director of Human Resources.

With a bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Cagle started her teaching career in Guilford County before moving to Tabernacle Elementary in 1980. After earning her master's in educational leadership from Appalachian State University, she was named assistant principal of Farmer School before serving as principal of Seagrove School for more than nine years. She moved to the Central Office in July 1999.

"I've been very blessed to have this career in Randolph County Schools," she said after the meeting. "As an administrator I've been able to work with great educators, parents, students and community leaders. I think we've seen a lot of positive things happen. I'm proud to be part of that."

Cagle, who lives in the house where she grew up in the Farmer school district, said she would take her first six months of retirement to get caught up on a number of things. After that, she said, she doesn't have any definite plans, although she said she could "see myself volunteering."

Her husband, Kevin, works for the U.S. Postal Service. They have a daughter, Cori, who teaches at Hopewell Elementary School, and a son, Bart.

"It was neat to raise my kids in the house where I grew up," Cagle said. She attended Farmer School and was in the first class to graduate from Southwestern Randolph High School.

Barnes is probably known more for his five state football championships as head coach of Richmond County High as he is for his service as a school principal. However, he was named Randolph County's 2007-2008 Principal of the Year.

A Trinity High School graduate, Barnes earned his bachelor's degree from High Point University in 1977 and his master's from N.C. A&T State. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Principal Executive Program.

After spending the first eight years of his career at Southern and Northeastern Guilford high schools, Barnes moved to Richmond County High for eight more years before becoming principal of North Asheboro Middle School in the early 1990s. He went back into coaching at Richmond County, then took over his duties at Trinity High six years ago.

Asked why he decided to move to Wheatmore, Barnes said he "had entertained retirement, but I had to do something."

He said his "best decision was to tackle another challenge. I've always been motivated by challenges. (The new Wheatmore High) was something that kind of got my juices flowing."

Wheatmore, scheduled to open in the fall of 2009, will take approximately half the students and faculty of Trinity. That means Barnes will still be working with people he knows.

"It's very exciting," he said. "I want it to make a positive impact on the community.

"My goal is I want it to be a smooth transition for everybody. I see Trinity and Wheatmore as sister schools."

Barnes will take over his responsibilities at Wheatmore on Sept. 1, 2008.

        

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